Why Google Isn't Crawling Your Sitemap (And How to Force It)

Submitted your sitemap to Google Search Console but nothing's happening? Frustrating, right?

Common scenario: You submit your sitemap, wait days or weeks, and Google still hasn't crawled your pages.

The good news: There are specific reasons this happens, and concrete steps you can take to fix it.

In this guide, I'll show you:

Why Google ignores sitemaps
How to diagnose the problem
Proven methods to force crawling
Prevention strategies

Why Google Isn't Crawling Your Sitemap

Reason #1: Sitemap Errors

Check for:

XML syntax errors
Invalid URLs
404 errors in sitemap
Blocked by robots.txt

How to check:

Go to Google Search Console → Sitemaps
Look for error messages
Click sitemap for details

Reason #2: Low Crawl Budget

Your site might have:

Poor server response time
Low domain authority
Infrequent content updates
Technical SEO issues

Impact: Google allocates less crawl budget.

Reason #3: New or Low-Authority Site

Reality: New sites get crawled less frequently.

Timeline:

New sites: 2-4 weeks for first crawl
Established sites: 1-7 days

Reason #4: Server Issues

Problems:

Slow response time (>500ms)
5xx errors
Timeouts
Overloaded server

Google's response: Reduce crawl rate to avoid harming your site.

Reason #5: Content Quality Issues

Google deprioritizes:

Thin content
Duplicate content
Low-quality pages
Spammy sites

How to Force Google to Crawl

Method 1: Request Indexing (URL Inspection Tool)

For individual URLs:

Go to Google Search Console
Use URL Inspection tool
Enter URL
Click "Request Indexing"

Limitations:

Daily quota (~10-20 URLs)
Only for owned properties
Not guaranteed instant crawling

Best for: High-priority pages that need immediate attention.

Method 2: Ping Google

Notify Google of sitemap update:

curl "https://www.google.com/ping?sitemap=https://example.com/sitemap.xml"

When to use:

After publishing new content
After updating sitemap
After fixing sitemap errors

Automation:

import requests

def ping_google(sitemap_url):
    """Ping Google about sitemap update"""
    ping_url = f"https://www.google.com/ping?sitemap={sitemap_url}"
    try:
        response = requests.get(ping_url, timeout=10)
        return response.status_code == 200
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Error: {e}")
        return False

# Usage
success = ping_google("https://example.com/sitemap.xml")
print(f"Ping successful: {success}")

Method 3: Improve Server Performance

Actions:

Optimize response time:
Use CDN
Enable caching
Optimize database queries
Upgrade hosting if needed
Fix server errors:
Monitor for 5xx errors
Fix timeout issues
Ensure adequate resources

Test:

curl -o /dev/null -s -w "Time: %{time_total}s\n" https://example.com

Target: Under 200ms

Method 4: Add Internal Links

Strategy:

Link new pages from homepage
Link from popular pages
Create a "Latest Posts" section
Use breadcrumbs

Why it works: Google discovers pages by following links.

Method 5: Build External Links

Tactics:

Share on social media
Submit to relevant directories
Reach out for backlinks
Guest posting

Impact: External links signal importance and trigger crawling.

Method 6: Use IndexNow

For Bing/Yandex (not Google yet):

import requests

def submit_to_indexnow(urls, api_key, host):
    """Submit URLs to IndexNow"""
    endpoint = "https://api.indexnow.org/indexnow"

    payload = {
        "host": host,
        "key": api_key,
        "urlList": urls
    }

    response = requests.post(endpoint, json=payload)
    return response.status_code == 200

# Usage
urls = ["https://example.com/new-page"]
api_key = "your-api-key"
host = "example.com"

submit_to_indexnow(urls, api_key, host)

Diagnostic Checklist

1. Verify Sitemap is Accessible

Test:

curl -I https://example.com/sitemap.xml

Should return: 200 OK

2. Check robots.txt

Visit: https://example.com/robots.txt

Look for:

Sitemap: https://example.com/sitemap.xml

Make sure not blocked:

User-agent: Googlebot
Disallow: /sitemap.xml  ← Remove this!

3. Validate XML Syntax

Use: XML Sitemap Validator

Check for:

Valid XML structure
Proper encoding
No special characters issues

4. Check Search Console Coverage

Go to Coverage report
Look for errors
Check "Discovered - currently not indexed"

5. Monitor Crawl Stats

Go to Settings → Crawl Stats
Check crawl requests per day
Look for patterns or drops

Prevention Strategies

1. Maintain Accurate Sitemaps

Best practices:

Update when content changes
Remove deleted pages
Use accurate <lastmod> dates (see our guide)
Keep under 50,000 URLs per file

2. Optimize Technical SEO

Focus on:

Fast server response time
Mobile-friendly design
HTTPS enabled
Clean HTML structure
No crawl errors

3. Publish Quality Content Regularly

Google prioritizes:

Fresh content
Original content
Valuable content
Well-structured content

4. Build Site Authority

Long-term:

Earn quality backlinks
Build brand recognition
Engage users
Create linkable assets

When to Be Patient

Sometimes waiting is the answer:

New sites: 2-4 weeks is normal
Low-priority pages: 7-14 days is acceptable
Established sites: 1-3 days is typical

Don't panic if:

Your site is new
Content isn't time-sensitive
You're seeing gradual progress

Next Steps

Diagnose the issue using checklist above
Fix any errors in Search Console (see error guide)
Ping Google after fixing issues
Request indexing for priority pages
Monitor progress in Crawl Stats
Be patient - crawling takes time

Key Takeaways

Check for sitemap errors first - Most common issue
Ping Google after updates - Notify of changes
Improve server performance - Faster = more crawls
Add internal links - Help discovery
Be patient with new sites - 2-4 weeks is normal
Monitor Search Console - Track progress

Bottom line: Google not crawling your sitemap usually has a fixable cause. Diagnose the issue, apply the right solution, and monitor progress.

Need help diagnosing sitemap issues? Analyze your sitemap to identify potential problems before Google does.